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Banned

Got the majority of content I could muster up in an hour. This is my first official thread so go easy on me. Suggestions, new information, etc -- fire them my way so I can update. I will be doing some visual revamp later in the evening once I return from work. Until then, enjoy!

Banned

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Can't wait for this one, got it pre-ordered from YesAsia for a while now as it sounds right up my alley and the difficulty won't be much of a turn-off if the games as deep in terms of combat, leveling & loot as the translated review quotes made it sound. Hopefully the online play turns out to be quite robust, I could see myself spending alot of time in co-op.

punched Wheelchair Mike

Can you quicksave anywhere in this game ala Oblivion? I don't mind the game being brutally hard provided I don't have to redo a gruelling section of a dungeon on account that my last save was hours ago.

Banned

Me either man. The Kings Field series are so damn atmospheric the ultimate game to play on a snow day or
completely by yourself. Its been so long since I have let a game envelope me like that but this little bastard
looks like its finally ready to take up the mantle.

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Me either man. The Kings Field series are so damn atmospheric the ultimate game to play on a snow day or
completely by yourself. Its been so long since I have let a game envelope me like that but this little bastard
looks like its finally ready to take up the mantle.

Can't believe how long it's feel like it's been since we had such a straight up traditional game like this (that wasn't on PC)....hell it's almost got a Diablo-esque vibe to it's tone. At least I think it does

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yeah. i think it looks fantastic, and i wish oblivion's engine was up to par with this, but im just concerned about gameplay. everyone keeps saying 'kings field' when i ask what the gameplay is like, but nobody can seem to give me a straight rundown of what gameplay is like. i've looked up kings field videos and can't seem to find anything other than trailers with no gameplay, and first-person oblivion style sword swinging every now and then. no inventory system, no loot, no character, nothing.

ex: baulder's gate: dark alliance
-character has levels gained through xp
-each level you can add abilities or stats with points
-set up your character's equipment via an inventory system
-beat up and cast spells on enemies
-they drop loot
-pick it up
-sell some of it in town or use it
-you can buy stuff in towns
-rinse repeat

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king's field gameplay is centered around slow exploration, first-person sword/weapon swinging, and magic attacks. there's leveling, which affects stats/hp, but you don't customize your stats. character customization is mainly through equipped weapon/spell selection and armor/accessories.

weapons all have varying speeds, ranges, swing/stab trajectories and and recovery times - you need to maneuver in the environment and time/space your attacks to strike enemies (hitting being purely based on spacing and aim - not stats). aiding you in this is magic, which is often able to stun enemies for a moment allowing for hits without leaving yourself open to counterattack. both magic and bows provide ranged attacks.

everything is very slow and deliberate - "running" speed is slower than walking speed in most games. combat is about planning and knowing how often and where your opponents attack, as well as being in range and aimed correctly to hit them during openings. the dungeon is full of secret areas, traps, and other environmental hazards that need to be avoided/dealt with. loot is mostly unique and placed in guarded/hidden areas. monsters drop only gold (if that), though some occasionally drop other stuff (arrows, etc...)

the feeling of being in a dangerous, forgotten, ancient place is really well done.

There hasn't been 100% confirmation of how the language is setup. I did email Play-asia and they responded with a "we're pretty sure it's subtitled in English but we're not 100% because it's not out yet." It's been mentioned that menus/text/subtitles are available in English in the Asian version, but for those who are going to wait for an official word I'll be sure to update as soon as I get my copy.

Member

king's field gameplay is centered around slow exploration, first-person sword/weapon swinging, and magic attacks. there's leveling, which affects stats/hp, but you don't customize your stats. character customization is mainly through equipped weapon/spell selection and armor/accessories.

weapons all have varying speeds, ranges, swing/stab trajectories and and recovery times - you need to maneuver in the environment and time/space your attacks to strike enemies (hitting being purely based on spacing and aim - not stats). aiding you in this is magic, which is often able to stun enemies for a moment allowing for hits without leaving yourself open to counterattack. both magic and bows provide ranged attacks.

everything is very slow and deliberate - "running" speed is slower than walking speed in most games. combat is about planning and knowing how often and where your opponents attack, as well as being in range and aimed correctly to hit them during openings. the dungeon is full of secret areas, traps, and other environmental hazards that need to be avoided/dealt with. loot is mostly unique and placed in guarded/hidden areas. monsters drop only gold (if that), though some occasionally drop other stuff (arrows, etc...)

the feeling of being in a dangerous, forgotten, ancient place is really well done.

Good info. Other elements of the King's Field experience that I find significant:

No conventional towns: buying and selling items is done with lone merchants spread across the game's world, and "inn"-type full healing is only available at special locations that are few and far between.

Consequently, NPC interaction is minimal, and the protagonists are mute.

Their game worlds generally have a very small scope- they aren't continent- or world-spanning adventures. But that doesn't mean the games themselves are small, they actually have a vast, epic feel because the locations are very well fleshed-out and everything is to proper scale. There are no shifts in perspective to overworld maps, or abrupt transitions between levels, everything is seamless, and designed to feel immersive, and like a place that could actually exist. Sort of like Half-Life (except KF predates it by years and actually has more compelling level design, but never got mass critical acclaim because of this quality).

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Added all remaining character classes, weapons, NPCs and more demon bosses. A few more area screenshots.

Network play - well it didn't really clarify any more about the previous issues raised, just added two more network mode explanations:

"Soul Direction"
The actions of all logged-on players affect the gameworld. Absolutely no explanation about how this system works. Depending on the actions of all the players, the monster population, items type and distribution, strength of phantoms, etc. will change in different areas. An inaccessible area may suddenly become accessible, with a ladder appearing, etc. (See screenshots on site).

Network Invasion - PVP!
To start, no there is no info as to whether this can be 'switched off' if you login. Also no info how another player is selected, etc.... All it says is that if a player has a specific "black stone" special item and perishes, he can invade the gameworld of another player as a "black phantom". Win and he gets resurrected. Lose and he loses "soul level". The "black phantom" form will be of a higher level than the deceased player is currently at.